The Portland Timbers finally returned to Providence Park Saturday night after opening the season with five grueling games on the road.

And what a homecoming it was.

The Timbers (1-3-2, 5 points) picked up their first victory of the 2018 MLS season as they beat Minnesota United (2-4-0, 6 points) 3-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 21,144 at Providence Park.

"We've been working very hard to achieve this result," Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. "The energy tonight from the fans gave us what we needed in order to fight all the way to the end and get the result."

It was the first victory of Savarese's MLS coaching career. Savarese, who replaced former Portland head coach Caleb Porter in the offseason, had a rough start to his Timbers tenure as the club earned just two points in his first five games at the helm.

But the Timbers were in control throughout the first half Saturday and managed to hang on late in the game to earn their first victory under Savarese.

Portland got a boost from an unlikely hero Saturday night as right back Alvas Powell recorded a goal and an assist in the first half.

Powell received the ball at midfield in the 20th minute and made an incredible run past three Minnesota defenders and into the box before firing a shot into the top of the net to give the Timbers a 1-0 lead. It was just Powell's fifth goal in 101 career appearances for the Timbers.

"It was a fantastic goal," Savarese said. "For him going forward, to find the space, to find that shot and score that goal, it was what we needed. It was great to see him find the space going forward."

Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri then scored a beautiful goal three minutes later when he flicked in a cross from Powell to put Portland up 2-0. Valeri, the reigning MLS MVP, has scored in three-straight games.

Minnesota appeared to pull a goal back in the 25th minute when Miguel Ibarra put the ball in the back of the net. But referee Jose Carlos Rivero ruled the goal offside after a video review.

The Timbers were aided by some big saves from Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, who made a tremendous stop to deny Ibarra from close-range in the 41st minute and stopped a difficult shot from Christian Ramirez in the 58th minute.

But Minnesota finally got on the board in the 64th minute when designated player Darwin Quintero, who was making his MLS debut, sent a savable shot past Gleeson and into the corner of the net.

"We don't want to give goals away, but at the end of the day, the important thing right now is to get the victory and to continue to work to be more solid defensively," Savarese said. "I think we're on a good path."

Portland responded in the 74th minute when Timbers forward Fanendo Adi redirected a shot from Cristhian Paredes into the back of the net for his first goal of the 2018 season. Adi appeared to score again a few minutes later, but the goal was ruled offside after a video review.

"We saw the confidence from him after the goal," said Savarese on Adi. "He gave us a lot tonight. He worked very hard."

Minnesota pulled another goal back in the 81st minute when Timbers defender Bill Tuiloma netted an own goal to cut Portland's lead to just one goal. But the Timbers never relinquished the 3-2 lead.

After conceding late goals and dropping results in back-to-back games in Chicago and Orlando, the Timbers managed to hold on in the final minutes of Saturday's game to earn the win in Portland.

"There are areas we have to improve," Savarese said. "This is just the start. I'm seeing progress game after game and I thought that today was the best that we've played so far."